Table Of ContentPORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Tips for taking great people shots
© Copyright 2016 Steve Pease - All rights reserved.
It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document
in either electronic means or in printed format.
The information provided is truthful and consistent, in that any liability, in
terms of inattention or otherwise, by any usage or abuse of any policies,
processes, or directions contained within is the solitary and utter
responsibility of the recipient reader.
Under no circumstances can any legal responsibility or blame held against
the author for any reparation, damages, or monetary loss due to the
information in this document, either direct or indirect. Respective authors
own all copyrights. The information in this document is for informational
purposes only and is universal as so.
All trademarks and brands within this book are for clarifying purposes only
and are owned by the owners themselves, not affiliated with this document.
Steve Pease
Introduction
This book written to help regular people learn to take portraits like a pro.
There are according to estimates close to two billion photos taken every
day. Most of them are snapshots. Almost everyone has a camera on them all
the time with modern cell phones.
Many of these photos taken are shots of people, friends and family. Most of
the photos taken are a quick shot with no planning or composition. They are
shots people want to take to remember something important to them, a
moment in time. Most of the shots are capturing an image of what they
want to see. However, they are not shots most people would say are great.
If you use the tips in this book, you can take your photos from ok to great.
Your everyday photos will be excellent enough to make prints. And some of
them will be shots who others will say WOW when they see them, and will
want copies.
I have taken several hundred thousand pictures over the last 35 years, and
I'm constantly trying to improve my photography. My goal is always to take
the best shots I can. I want people to say wow when they look at my shots.
I went through the photography course at New York Institute of
photography many years ago. What I learned from the course, and my years
of experience were worth every dollar. The key to be a great photographer
is to see things that most people don't see, or in a way, they didn’t see it.
My favorite types of photography are landscape, portrait, animals, black
and white, and infrared. I have shot several weddings and spend hundreds
of hours just exploring different places looking for great things to take
pictures of.
Portrait photography is fun because you not only have to compose the shot,
you also have to pose the subject to get the composition right. With other
types of photography, the subject is an inanimate object. It could be a
mountain or a building or any number of other objects. If it's wildlife, you
take what you can get at the time.
Posing the subject can be a challenge or fun. If you make it fun, it will
make your photography easier, and you will be a better portrait
photographer. To pose the subject, you need to know what looks good for
the subject you're shooting. It also matters what the shot is to be used for. A
sexy shot of a model, compared to a shot of a person for a business
newsletter, are completely different.
If you use Evernote, set up a series of swipe files that you can access
anywhere. As you are surfing the web and books or magazines, and you see
portraits that you like. Save them in your swipe files so you can use them
for reference in the future. Then when you’re looking for a good pose or
type of shot, you have it there to re create, or pose a similar look.
I have an Evernote folder for each type of portrait shot. A file for women
for all types of situations. A file for men, kids, babies, groups, seniors, pets,
etc. Any type of portraits you will be shooting. I keep headshots, half body
and full body shots. If you have this, you can plan ahead before the shoot so
you know what you want to do. Ad-libing can work, but having a plan will
work better.
If you don’t use Evernote, you should. They have a free version that will
let you store your swipe files to use on any device. You can use any other
file storage program the same way. Set these files up, it will help you a lot
when you want to shoot portraits.
One more very cool thing online that you can use is Google Photo Storage.
You can store an unlimited number of good-quality resolution shot, for no
charge. I have over 300,000 photos stored on their server. I still save my
originals at least two other ways, but this is awesome. I store mine at full
resolution. When you use up your space, it costs you a little to store them,
but it’s very reasonable.
Not only do you get free storage. The site sorts your shot for you. I can look
at the people section and click on a picture of my wife. The software will
pull up almost every shot I have of her in a couple of seconds. This makes
storing your photos very easy and being able to access the ones you want
when you want to see them.
If you have any questions or comments. Contact me at
mailto:[email protected] or visit stevepease.net for more great books.
Table of Contents
Special Tips for Equipment
Special tips for Composition
Special Tips for Lighting
General Portrait Tips For all Portraits
Special Tips for Portrait of Women
Special Tips for Portraits of Couples
Special Tips for Portraits of Men
Special Tips for Portraits of Groups
Special Tips for Portraits of Kids
Special Tips for Portraits of Pets
Equipment
“Photography is the only language that can
Be understood anywhere in the world.”
Bruno Barbey
Camera
Type of Camera needed
It is preferable to use an SLR when taking portraits. There are big
advantages to having total control. Having control of the aperture, shutter
speed and ISO, is great. However, you can still take some fantastic shots
without a DSLR.
One of the keys to getting great portrait shots without an SLR is to get in
close to the subject. What this does is allows you to fill the screen with the
subject. Then blur the background to give better isolation for the subject,
with no distraction from the background.
Many people now take most of their pictures from a phone camera,
including portraits. The Iphone seven plus has a great portrait mode on it. It
uses both camera lenses and blurs the background for you. It works well
and takes great shots.
Be careful when you edit your phone photos that you don’t over edit them.
Many apps on the market give you lots of filters to make major changes to
the photo. There are four apps that I use when I edit phone photos for
different things. They are, Befunky, enlight, Camera plus, and Pics Play
Pro.
Each of these apps has different filters I like. They each give you options
for quick changes. They also give you control to not over edit and make the
photos look fake.
SOME GENERAL TIPS
When taking phone portraits, try to find a reflective surface to use in the
photo to add interest to your shot, if you're not filling the frame with the
subject. A reflective surface in front of the subject can add a lot of interest
to the photo while not detracting from it. Even something like a shiny table
or counter can work well.
Taking the portrait through a window, reflecting something interesting
outside. Things like trees, or a mountain or any other interesting object, can
make a cool portrait. You can even use the window for interest with
reflection of the subject.
Turn on the grid in your phone so you can use the rule of thirds to compose
your photos.
Don’t use your digital zoom on your camera unless you have to. Try to
move closer to the subject so you don’t lose resolution in the picture.
Sometimes it’s impossible, there are obstacles preventing you from getting
nearer to the subject. Things like water or other things that prevent you
from getting in for a tighter shot. Only use the digital zoom as a last resort.
Camera settings
There are five camera settings that are important in photography. Those
settings can make a big difference in your portraits. If you are not using an
SLR, set your camera to the portrait mode. This mode will make the camera
try to give you the optimal setting to get the best portraits.
If you have an SLR, use the settings below.
Mode setting
The best setting to use for portraits is aperture priority. Aperture priority
gives you the most control of depth of field. Depth of field is very important
in portrait shooting. Controlling depth of field gives you total power over
the background, and if it is out of focus or not. The camera will set the
shutter speed from the aperture you choose. It regulates the amount of light
coming through the lens.
You can also set it to the manual mode. Manual lets you control both
aperture and shutter speed. I do this sometimes if I am going for a different
look, like a high key shot or a low-key shot. Otherwise most modern
cameras have very good sensors for setting the shutter speed.
I also prefer to shoot in raw mode. Raw mode stops the camera from
processing the photo to what it thinks you want. It lets you do it after you
get the shot. Many of the photos I take would be fine if processed in Jpeg,
so I set my camera to shoot a raw and jpeg. It takes more space on the card.
It also takes more time post processing. However, if you get a great shot
that needs some adjusting, raw mode lets you fix it a lot easier.
I prefer shooting in natural light. Sometimes you need to make some
adjustments. Those few great photos that you can fix, make it worth
shooting in raw mode.
Focus setting
Single shot autofocus will work best for most situations. One thing you
need to know and be careful of is the focus point. In my camera, I can set
the focus point in the shot to one of 10 points. Where you focus in a portrait
shot is critical. I normally set it for the center spot. I set the focus and the
metering for where I want it in the center of the frame. Hold the shutter
button down halfway, compose the shot, and make the photo.
Exposure
The exposure settings can vary a bit from camera to camera. I tend to like a
darker than lighter look to my photos. It looks better, and it’s easier to fix
somewhat underexposed than it is to fix photos that are over exposed.
White Balance
White Balance also will work well on auto most of the time. If there is a
problem, you can fix it in the post processing if you shoot raw in mode.
ISO
For most situations set the ISO at 100. This setting will give you the
crispest cleanest shots. If shooting in low light, you can use the ISO to
allow more light through the lens. This lets you get the shutter speed faster
so the shots aren’t blurred.
Know your camera and know where the noise gets beyond the point where
it is noticeable. Don’t set the ISO higher than that. Most are around 800 to
1600 ISO with DSLRs. That point is normally lower with point and shoot
cameras. The bigger the sensor, the lower the noise, for the most part. Full-
frame cameras are best, but are much more expensive. I don’t shoot
